This year, the national underground storage tank program celebrates its 20th anniversary. The purpose of this report is to celebrate 20 years of strong partnerships, highlight some of our extraordinary accomplishments, and offer a short program history, so that as we look to the future we can continue in the strong tradition of our past. In 1983, the CBS program 60 Minutes aired a story called 'Check the Water.' The report brought national attention to families suffering from the effects of gasoline leaking from underground storage tanks. Less than a year later, Congress passed and the President signed a new law designed to protect the public from these and other petroleum releases. With this new law in place, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) faced the daunting task of regulating the nation's two million underground tanks storing petroleum and certain hazardous substances. The Agency responded quickly and creatively. Because of the number of tanks, the diversity of ownership, and the need for strong state involvement, EPA designed a program that was unlike any other regulatory program at the time. In less than four years, EPA built a new federal program - one noteworthy for its protective but flexible performance- based regulations; its aggressive approval of qualified state programs; its vigorous outreach and education; and its strong partnerships with states, tribes, industry, and many other partners still involved to this day.

"EPA 510-R-04-001." "March 2004."